While historians routinely look to the past to make sense of the present, Professor Ted Lendon demonstrated that the opposite approach can be equally illuminating when trying to understand some aspects of antiquity. A dynamic, legendary teacher of history at the University of Virginia, Professor Lendon animatedly and humorously shared with Middlesex his exploration of the question: “How Did Ancient Greek Infantry Fight?” His presentation, made possible by the Mudge Family Fund for the enrichment of the classics, offered a compelling explanation – and unexpectedly connected the ancient world with modern life – during Assembly on March 29.
Much of what is known about warfare in ancient Greece, he began, is derived from depictions of individual warriors and battle scenes painted on period vases. These images, along with a great deal of armor and helmets that survive from as far back as 725 B.C., indicate what was worn by the “hoplites,” citizen-soldiers clad in body armor who carried shields and spears.
Literary sources provide further insight into how the hoplites battled, describing them as creating a phalanx, a mass formation of parallel lines of warriors, which would then meet the enemy’s phalanx with a great “othismos,” or push. But, as Professor Lendon asked doubtfully, “How do you win a battle with a push?” Surely soldiers in the middle of the crush, he reasoned, would be “in grave peril of being suffocated.”
Inspired to find actual, modern parallels, Professor Lendon located YouTube videos of protests in Japan and South Korea, where both police and demonstrators are armed with shields and sticks. As several clips reveal, the crush of opponents appears painful but not lethal. And, as the pressure of pushing subsides, people separate and begin fighting individually.
Similarly, Professor Lendon proposed that Greek armies would run into each other, shouting their battle cries; an othismos would develop but gradually loosen; and soldiers would then attack each other until one side fled in panic and defeat. Consistent with existing artifacts and literature, his plausible theory left many wondering if other enduring, ancient mysteries might also be resolved by considering evidence from the modern world.